Tire removing device with circumferentially distributed pivoted thrust members



7 June 1957 M. PIENTKEWIC 2,796,117

TIRE REMOVING DEVICE WITH CIRCUMF'ERENTIALLY DISTRIBUTED PIVOTED THRUSTMEMBERS 1 Filed 061- 19, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet ll INVENTOR. WiW/Y' PIZVI'KEN/C.

syjjmm 2,796,117 TIALLY DISTRIBUTED M. PlENTKEWlC TIRE REMOVING DEVICEWITH CIRCUMF'EREN PIVOTEID THRUST MEMBERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct.19, 1954 United States Patent TIRE REMOVING DEVICE WITH CIRCUMFER-ENTIALLY DISTRIBUTED PIVOTED THRUST MEMBERS Martin Pientkewic, Vulcan,Mich.

Application October 19, 1954, Serial No. 463,125

2 Claims. (Cl. 1571.2)

This invention relates to devices or apparatus to remove pneumatic tiresfrom their rims or wheels, and is particularly adaptable to relativelyheavy or truck tires.

An object of the invention is the provision of certain new and usefulimprovements in such devices and more particularly in such a tireremoving device as disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No.354,000, filed May 11, 1953, now Patent No. 2,742,959, whereby the easeand facility of the tire removal operation areenhanced.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved tireremoval device of the type above-mentioned, which is simple inconstruction and operation and very 'eflicient in use.

The above broad as well as additional and more specific objects will beclarified in the following description wherein characters of referencerefer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawings. It is .to benotedthat the drawings are intended solely for the purpose ofillustration and that iscthereforeneither desired .nor intended to limitthe invention necessarily to any or all of the exact details ofconstruction shown except insofar as they may be deemed essential to theinvention.

Referring briefly to the drawings, Fig. l is a perspective view showingthe improved tire removing device applied to a tire and ready for theremoval operation.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the device, showing also thetire on its rim in phantom, with the various parts of the device readyto be brought together ready for the removal operation.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 3 showing,however, the use of the support base without the adapter plate in caseswhere the tire is mounted directly on the wheel.

Fig. 5 is an inverted perspective view of the press wheel forming a partof the device.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in section, showing theapplication of the device in pressing the lock ring loose from the rim.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged bottom perspective view of one of the fingers onthe press wheel.

Fig. 8 is a similar view of a modified form of the said finger.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates thesupport base of the device, comprising an annular platform 11 positionedat a suitable elevation above the floor on legs 12 and having an axialhub 13 extending upward therefrom. In case the tire to be removed ismounted directly on the wheel of the vehicle, which is shown merely byway of example at 14 in Fig. 4, the wheel is supported on the platform11 in the manner shown with the hub 13 passing through the axial passage15 through the wheel. An annular adapter plate 16 is used in case thetire rim comes off the wheel with the tire, to support the rim in themanner illustrated in Fig. 3, with the hub 13 of the base 10 passingthrough the axial 2 opening 17 of the adapter plate. Further, toproperly position the tire rim, shown at 18, closely adjacent thecircumferential edge of the plate 16 and to prevent it from slipping onthe plate, three or more circumferentially equidistant prongs 19 areprovided integral with the plate.

A frame 20, having substantially the conformation of an equilateraltriangle in plan view, has three legs 21 extending from the apices ofthe triangle, and rigid with the lower extremity of each leg is anL-shaped foot having a concavely shaped apron extending downward fromthe inner edge thereof, shown respectively at 22 and 23. A cross-member24 is supported on top of the frame 20, extending from the midpoint ofone side 25 of the frame or triangle to the opposite apex 26. An opening27 extends through the member 24 in axial alignment with an imaginarycircle drawn through the feet 22.

A separate press ring or wheel 28 is provided, comprising a horizontaltop ring 29 and an internal depending flange 30, the diameter of thelatter being slightly in excess of that of the tire rim 18. A relativelylarge number of closely and equidistantly spaced fingers 31 arepivotally suspended between ears 32 on the underside of the ring 29 onpins 33 and they all extend radially inward and downward. The pivots 33.of the :fingers are positioned near the radially outward ends of thelatter, substantially .as shown, so that, when freely suspended, therear ends, i. e., the radially outward ends, of the fingers contact theundersur-face of the ring 29, whence, as above stated, the fingersnormally extend radially inward and downward. It is to be noted,however, that upon upward pressure applied to the radially inward endsof the .fingers, they'are free to swing through an arc, which is smallas shown in Fig. 3, until stopped by the flange 30.

The hub 13 of the base 10 has two spaced upstanding members .34 providedwith vertically spaced and horizontally aligned holes. 35, any aligned.pair of which is adaptedtc receive a pin .36. A rod'37 extends downwardthrough the opening27 in the member 24 and has an opening 38 in its.lowerend, the latter being adapted to be positioned between the members34 and, with the pin 36 passing through the rod opening 38, the rod issecured to the base 10.

The upper end or portion of the rod 37 is threaded,

as at 39, and a crank 40 is threaded thereon, so that upon turning ofthe crank the rod will tend to rise or descend with respect to themember 24. Since, in the operation of the device as will presently bedescribed, considerable force must be applied to tend to lift the rod, ahydraulic lift or jack, indicated merely by way of example at 41, may beused in association with the rod to provide the necessary force.

In use, assuming that it is desired to remove the tire 42 from the rim18, the device is set up with respect tothe tire as indicated in Fig. 2and as shown in Fig. l. The feet 22 are adapted to rest on the ring 29after the press wheel 23 has been positioned on the tire with theradially inward tips of the fingers 31 arranged around the rim 18. Uponexertion of the upward force on the rod 37, the legs 21 tend to and dourge the ring 29 and of coursealso the flange 3t downward. The latterengages the fingers 31 and forces their ends downward against the tirebead, thus :loosening the latter from the rim, in an obvious manner. Thelarge number of fingers 3i assures an equally distributed force againstthe tire and thus an even loosening of the tire fro-m the rim. Theoperation of the device is of course similar when removing a tire fromthe wheel, as shown in Pig. 4.

The fingers 31 are exemplified in Fig. 7, showing the pivot opening 42through which the pivot pin 33 passes. The finger has a uniformthickness throughout the greater portion of its length except that it isrounded at its outer end or tip, as shown at 43, and is moreoverprovided with a cut-out 44 at that end in which two longitudinallyspaced rollers 45 are supported which project slightly from the plane ofthe flat undersurface 46 of the finger. These rollers facilitatemovement of the finger on the tire with a minimum of friction. Amodified provision of rollers on the tip of the finger is shown in Fig.8, wherein the finger 31a is identical to the finger 31 except that itis of solid construction at its tip instead of having the cut-out 44.However, spaced transverse cylindrical grooves 47 are provided in whichthe rollers 45a register loosely. A strap 48 secured intermediate itslength to the side of the finger with its ends extending at least partWay into the ends of the grooves 47, prevents the rollers from fallingout of the ends of the grooves. The grooves 47 are so positioned, withtheir axes parallel with the underside 46a of the finger, that the planeof the underside provides a chord drawn through the cylinder defined bythe groove, thus permitting the rollers to project below the surface46a.

Fig. 6 illustrates how the lock rim may be pressed loose, where the tiremounting assembly of the rim is provided with the same. An angle-shapedshoe 50 comprising a yoke 51 engaging about the leg 21 and seating onthe foot 22, and an angularly and downwardly extending arm 52 extendingaround the back edge of the foot and under and beyond the apron 23, isused for this purpose. The lower extremity of the arm 52 is providedwith a longitudinal groove 53 which engages the rim of the lock ring 54.Upon the exertion of downward pressure on the feet 21, the shoes 50obviously press the ring 54 downward to loosen the same, theinterengagement of the ring with the grooved end 53 of the shoepreventing the latter from slipping over or under the ring.

Obviously, modifications in form or structure may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A :device of the class described for loosening a tire from the rim onwhich it is mounted, comprising a base having an annular platformthereon and a hub extending upward axially through the platform, anupright frame including a horizontal top portion and a plurality ofequidistantly spaced legs extending therefrom, said legs being arrangedin an imaginary circle having a diameter slightly larger than thediameter of said rim, said frame having a cross-member on said topportion, said cross-member having an opening therethrough in alignmentwith the axis of said circle, a vertical rod having one end releasablysecured to said hub and the other end extending through said opening,means for urging said rod upward through said opening, said tire beingadapted to be positioned on said platform coaxial with said hub, saidframe being positioned on the tire with said circle coaxial with saidrim, said legs having feet positioned radially outward from said rim, ahorizontal ring having substantially the same internal diameter as saidcircle, said ring having a depending internal flange, said feet havingdepending aprons extendng from the radially inward ends thereof andpositioned against said flange, said ring having a plurality ofcircumferentiailly spaced radial fingers pivotally secured near butspaced from their rear ends to the underside of the ring and extendingradially inward under said flange, said fingers each having a main bodyportion and a tapering tip engageable with the tire adjacent the rim,said flange pressing on the fingers to loosen the tire from the rim uponactuation of said means for urging said rod upward, each of said fingershaving at least one transverse roller on the underside of said taperingtip thereofv 2. The device set forth in claim 1, the length of each ofsaid fingers between the tip and the pivot axis thereof substantiallyexceeding the distance from the pivot axis to the other end of thefinger whereby said tip ends of the fingers when said ring is horizontaltend by gravity to rotate downward, said other end of the fingercontacting the undersurface of said ring after downward rotation of thefinger through a small are thereby limiting the extent of said downwardrotation and normally positioning said fingers sloping downward in aradially inward direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,564,496 Staugaard Dec. 8, 1925 2,406,996 Colley Sept. 3, 19462,442,714 Stack June 1, 1948 2,495,118 McCollister Jan. 17, 19502,508,069 Lowry May 16, 1950 2,580,926 Johnson et al. Jan. 1, 19522,595,258 Hildred May 6,1952

